


a thousand teeth (yours among them)

by ddaenggtan (ER_Lovelace)



Category: Among Us (Video Game), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: (bc vmin WOULD BE the horny boys in a horror movie), (vmin are the insatiably horny boys that fuck in a horror movie), Allusions to smut, Angst, Blood and Gore, Graphic Description of Corpses, Horror, M/M, MAIN CHARACTER NAMJOON, Major Character Death For Sure, Mild Gore, Murder, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Suspense, The relationships are like............secondary to the plot really, There Is No Infidelity In This Fic Please Trust Me, Thriller, Violence, because its mostly about the horror plot, blood mentions, but - Freeform, but i thought i'd tag them just the same just in case, but no actual smut, hm what else lets see, hopefully, space, this is absolutely an among us au im not ashamed at all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:07:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27945767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ER_Lovelace/pseuds/ddaenggtan
Summary: captain kim namjoon is prepared for anything during his most recent deep space assignment. or, he thought he was, until one of his crew is murdered and namjoon realizes that the men around him may not all be the same people he left port with.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Kim Namjoon | RM, Jeon Jungkook/Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17
Collections: Interstellar Fest





	1. blade in the dark

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [moonlitchild](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlitchild/pseuds/moonlitchild) in the [interstellarfest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/interstellarfest) collection. 



> hello i hope this is horror enough for you, prompter!!! i've done my best to make it very Suspense and Thriller and Tense, like many games of among us are, but especially so because at least in the game you KNOW there's an imposter!! there is definite murder in this tho, like probably of the tannies themselves, so be warned!!!! each chapter i'll update the tags as necessary - and i defaulted to a Graphic Depictions of Violence tag, but I may not even need that ? just the Gore tag, hopefully!! i'll also put any chapter-specific tags in the notes at the beginning!! 
> 
> as i said in the tags this is 10000% an among us au, because i play too much of it for too long and it wont leave my head!! the basis for the ship the tannies are on is the Skeld, but you do NOT need to know anything about Among Us or the skeld map in order for this to make sense!! there are a few easter eggs thrown in every once in a while for AU players and horror fans, but its not required!! if you DO know the skeld map p well, then you'll have a good idea of the layout of the tannies' ship, but i've made my own adjustments, which i'll likely make clear further on in the story or in my twitter acct, which i will link later on after author reveals. this is v much a mystery fic, but i definitely encourage you to ask questions in the comments, i'll answer every comment and do what i can to answer them!! i hope to update regularly - i've got about three chapters planned out, though they're short, and i've got a solid plan for the plot, so assuming life and the characters dont screw me over, i should be on track for regular or semi-regular updates! enjoy!!!!!!
> 
> **Prompt:**
> 
> space horror- any of the boys! doesnt even have to have a relationship! some kind of horror set in space. my first thought is ala ‘midnight’ from doctor who. maybe something happens with their ship? maybe theres a base somewhere and something happens? bad weather turned nightmare? up to you! i want the heebie jeebies. the spookie ookies. thank you!

Namjoon curses under his breath as the wires slip from his grip. It had taken so long for him to figure out which ones needed to be paired, and now he had to start all over again. 

He focuses, fingers trailing over the wires as his eyes follow the wires carefully, doing his best to discern which of them needed to be paired. Not for the first time he cursed the task system that someone (he) had created - the randomized tasks were much fairer for work distribution, and the crew had astonishingly fewer complaints now, but Namjoon hated having to do wires. 

Not only did the server room still give him the creeps, but it made Namjoon actively nervous. He’d seen the reports from other ships in their sector.  _ Something  _ was happening - an invasion, maybe, but it felt more like a hunt - and it always seems to come back to the server room somehow. 

If Namjoon weren’t the captain, he would have begged to trade tasks with someone - maybe Taehyung, since he never seemed to get the worst ones. But no – the captain is supposed to set an example, and Namjoon wasn’t about to fail the  _ Whalien _ . 

“Ah!” He spots the wires he’d dropped and gets the fused back together without a problem. His fingers close around the next set. 

The lights go out. 

A string of creative curses surges through his mind, but he keeps quiet – it’s unbecoming of a captain to curse, and he refuses to let the crew catch him doing it. Thankfully, though, the light panel is just around the server wall, so Namjoon won’t have to stumble very far in the pitch blackness to find it. 

Footsteps echo down the hallway, and Namjoon’s heart races. He knows, logically, it’s just one of the crew coming to fix the lights, but there’s something buzzing underneath his skin - an adrenaline burst begging to be released. 

The footsteps stop near the electrical panel, and he can hear whoever it is fussing about with a flashlight as a second set of boots bangs on the grates. The buzzing under his skin settles, briefly, now that he knows there’s more than one. He lifts one boot, the artificial gravity doing its best to hold him in one spot, and then–

A gurgle, and the last remnants of a scream that didn’t have a chance to make it out before being cut off. Namjoon knows that sound - he heard it in the messages from the other ships in the sector when the brass updated them. 

There’s a muffled thud, and a whisper that he can’t truly make out over the sound of his own heart beating. The footsteps bang away on the hall floor, disappearing into nothingness. Namjoon can’t move - he’s frozen in place, glued to the spot by the memory of  _ that sound _ . 

He hears footsteps in the hall, several pairs - the crew, wondering why the lights were still out, probably - and the spell on him lifts. He rushes around the wall. He’s careful, so careful, but he still feels the toe of his boot hit something solid, and he thinks he may throw up, but he’s supposed to be the captain and the captain keeps it together, so he doesn’t. He just feels for the switches on the lights, flips the last two that Whoever couldn’t get to. 

His vision goes white for a long moment. He blinks the spots away, and the footsteps falter for a second before they continue. The sound of boots on solid metal changes to the echoing reverberations of the grates that make up the floor of several areas of the ship - the server room included. 

When Namjoon turns, his eyes land on six of his crewmates. They all looked shocked, and Namjoon can tell that his face is as pale as the suits they wear. 

“I…” He looks at their faces - the disbelief, the horror, the  _ pain _ \- and he knows that he has failed. “The lights...I couldn’t see who…”

Seokjin shushes him and pulls until Namjoon falls apart in his arms. “We know,” he says softly. “You wouldn’t.”

Namjoon’s head is turned, so that he won’t suffocate in Seokjin’s shirt, but it’s not enough. He can still see the blood dripping through the grate, and he can still see dead eyes, the darkening red stain on the brown jumpsuit. Namjoon screws his eyes shut and tucks his head into Seokjin’s shoulder as the elder rubs his back. 

It doesn’t help, not really. The panic has set in, the adrenaline has left his limbs quaking, and the memory of Seunghyun’s dead eyes still float in front of him. The reports from the other sectors, whatever has been murdering those people, it’s come to the  _ Whalien _ . Namjoon has failed the crew - something is aboard the ship that shouldn’t be.


	2. it waits

They store Seunghyun in the medbay. There are cryo-chambers for precisely this reason– well, not  _ this _ reason, not for a  _ murder,  _ but in case one of them dies while on the mission and their remains need to be returned to Earth or the Station. 

None of them ever thought the chambers would be used, of course, but that’s hardly important now. 

The entire crew –  _ almost _ the entire crew, Namjoon brain amends – sits in the caf. It’s designed for more people than just them; the duplicate ships that are out in the sector sometimes have up to twenty-four people in them. But this crew is small, purposefully so. Namjoon had thought it would be better, when he read the reports of what happened on the other ships, to have a crew so limited. 

He understands his mistake now, though. 

Namjoon looks around at the crew -  _ his _ crew - and wonders which of them did it. He searches for any sign that they may not be  _ them, _ and the paranoia takes hold. 

Was Jimin’s hair such a dusty blonde the day before? Did Taehyung always have that habit of acting like he’s chewing gum, when Namjoon knows they weren’t sent with any? Had Jungkook’s eyes always looked that big and full of stars? Was Yoongi really so upset with Seunghyun that he’s able to smile at Hoseok now? And Hoseok – has he always had that habit of twisting his MOD around his wrist? Did Seokjin’s palm always feel so warm against Namjoon’s thigh, even through his suit?

The answer is yes, of course, to all of it - that’s the issue to this mystery. Whoever is being impersonated right now is an exact replica of who they took. This fake - this  _ imposter _ \- is able to copy everything – right down to mannerisms and unconscious habits. It’s what makes them so dangerous. 

Jungkook sniffles. Namjoon realizes that everyone is looking at him, and he’s confused for a moment before he remembers that he’s the captain. He isn’t expected - isn’t  _ allowed _ \- to grieve, because it’s  _ his _ job to figure out who murdered Seunghyun. 

“Everyone open your MODs.” They do as Namjoon orders, screens flaring to life around the table. It’s unfortunate that only the user can read each screen – he has no doubt the murderer has jailbroken their Mobile Operations Device to better wreck havoc. This isn’t the first time that Namjoon has wished they had a better tracking system than the Location Display in the Admin office. 

(There’s apparently an alert system for the main hall in HQ, and some sort of Vitals monitor on the Base. He’s never wanted to be stationed elsewhere, but  _ damn. _ ) 

Namjoon dismisses a few alerts on his own MOD screen before pulling up the Control Panel for the ship. 

“You all have access to the alert system now,” Namjoon says. “If you see anyone down, you hit that button, and everyone gets their ass to this table. Period. Am I understood?” 

Everyone nods and a few spare suspicious glances at the others. He isn’t looking forward to what’s next, but he knows what he has to do.

“Where was everyone when the lights went down?” Namjoon asks. He keeps his voice steady, as it should be. They’ve already seen him break once today, they can’t see it happen again. 

“I was starting the reactor,” Jungkook offers, eyes wide and shining in the light of the caf. “You know how long it can take, I didn’t even finish before it went dark.”

“Taehyung and I were in medbay,” Jimin says. 

“We had to test some samples.” Taehyung’s eyes meet Jimin’s and Namjoon suddenly is hyper-aware of  _ exactly _ what kind of samples they were testing. He turns to Seokjin. 

“I was cleaning,” the man says, “In here. Someone has to clean up our breakfasts and it’s never any of you.” 

“O-2,” Hoseok tells them without hesitation. “The filter needed replacing again.”

“And you?” Namjoon asks Yoongi after a long silence. He doesn’t mean to suspect Yoongi more than the others, but–

“We all know Hyun and I hated each other,” Yoongi says sharply. “I wanted him gone, but I never wanted him dead.”

“It’s okay,” Hoseok assures him softly. “Where were you, Yoongi?”

Yoongi shakes his head, mint-colored hair falling into his eyes before he looks around at everyone. He looks back down at where he’s fumbling with a stray thread as he says, “Storage.”

Namjoon closes his eyes, and he hears Hoseok sigh.

“I know,” Yoongi groans. “Trust me, I know. But I’d seen Joon go into the server room and I figured he’d be doing wires for the next ten hours, so I went ahead and did the ones there before I filled up the fuel can for the engines. When the lights went out, I figured Joon would get them, so I waited until the can was full before I left. You all walked right by me, so I just went with everyone else.”

“Yoongi…” Hoseok mutters. 

“That’s why I had to preface it,” Yoongi says quietly. “We had our share of arguments, but I never wanted to kill the guy.”

“You threatened to, like a week ago,” Taehyung points out. Yoongi stutters a rebuttal as Namjoon pulls up the incident report on his MOD.

“‘I'm going to gut you like the pig you are,’” Namjoon reads, effectively silencing the room. His eyes meet Yoongi’s, and he can see the regret. “Yoongi, this looks...terrible for you.”

“I know,” he says. “But if I  _ had _ killed him, I would’ve just lied and said I was somewhere else. Like with Hobi. Why would I admit to being so close to the murder site?”

“To throw us off your trail?” Jimin suggests. “You could use that same logic to say you  _ would _ admit to being close  _ because _ it would have seemed suspicious, and no murderer would ever admit to something that incriminating.”

“My head hurts,” Jungkook mutters as he rubs his temples, and Namjoon nods his agreement. 

“Why don’t we ask our dear captain what he was doing during the murder?” Taehyung suggests. Namjoon freezes, as does everyone else in the room. 

“Tae, are you seriously suggesting–”

“We  _ all _ hated Hyun,” Taehyung spits before Jin can finish. “He was a terrible person and he was exceedingly lazy unless something was in it for him. All of us have alibis, however flimsy and incriminating they are. But Namjoon was in the server room when we got there. Yoongi  _ saw him _ go there. If someone else killed Hyun, why didn’t Namjoon stop them? He didn’t even see them?  _ Or _ turn the lights on until we all got there, too?”

The room is silent, and as Namjoon and Taehyung stare at each other, the captain can feel all eyes on him. 

“What happened, Namjoon?” Taehyung asks again. Namjoon purses his lips, debating with himself. 

“I froze,” he eventually admits. And then he tells them everything– his inability to move, the way his heart pounded too loud to hear anything, all of it. He can tell there’s still some suspicion, and he’s torn. 

If he doesn’t tell them the truth about the other reports - about the shapechanger - then they still can protect themselves from a potential murderer. They still  _ know _ someone killed their eighth crewmember. And they won’t be even more suspicious of him than they already are. But if he doesn’t tell them the details…

They could get tricked, like he’s been tricked by one of the men around the table. They could believe they’re safe as houses, only to end up with a knife in their back. 

Or worse, based on the reports. 

But he doesn’t know if he wants to sow that kind of discord and distrust amongst the crew right after one of them has just been killed. Especially not when they’re looking at him as if  _ he _ plunged the knife into Seunghyun’s chest. But if he doesn’t tell them now, and decides to do so later, they’ll be suspicious of the fact that he waited. 

Namjoon has never done well with quick decisions – he prefers to take his time, mull it over, examine it from every angle and in every light before he decides which way to go. He knows that he doesn’t have that kind of time, though, and as he looks around at the scared faces of the six men, he knows what he has to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO chapters to start? i think i might be spoiling you all......oh well lmao as i said in the first chapter, you're welcome to leave any questions, comments, theories, in the comments or anywhere on my twt once I link it!! i love seeing your reactions to things, so don't hesitate even if its just to scream AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
> 
> i feel the need to Disclaim so : reminder that this story is purely fictional and based purely on fiction, while i do use the names and visages of prominent celebrities, this fic in no way endorses or depicts my own beliefs or opinions towards said celebrities, its merely a way to tell a story! as such, pls do not think i condone the actions in the fic - like murder! - bc That Is Bad In Real Life, Not An Enjoyable Storytelling Plot Format! Pls Do Not Murder Anyone!


	3. untraceable

It is, predictably, chaos after he tells the crew about the other ships in the sector. 

“So we’re the last ones?” Jungkook asks, eyes focused on the window in the caf that reveals the vast expanse of space around them. 

“This thing can  _ change its shape _ and you didn’t think we needed to know sooner?” Yoongi demands. Hoseok has one hand on his shoulder and is doing his best to calm him down, but the man is irate. 

“How do we even know that you’re the real Namjoon?” Jimin hisses, eyes wide as he grips Taehyung’s hand like a lifeline. “What if  _ you’re _ the fake, and you’re just going to murder all of us?”

Namjoon is at a loss - he knows that this is best in the long run, but the long run isn’t  _ now _ , and right now, the crew is in shambles. He turns to Seokjin - Seokjin who is staring at him with calculating eyes and it breaks a little piece of Namjoon’s heart to know that Seokjin has doubts like the others. 

"There's a ring," Namjoon says softly. He doesn't look away from Seokjin, is solely focused on making sure that even if everyone else has doubts, Seokjin believes him. "It's tucked away in the Admin Office, waiting for when we get back because you ordered it a size too small and didn't realize until we got up here."

Tears pool in Seokjin's eyes, washing away the doubts. It's enough for Namjoon to be able to breathe again, and when he turns back the rest of the crew is staring.

"When did you two get engaged?" Jungkook asks, looking more than a little hurt.

"Second week up here," Namjoon says as he looks back to Seokjin. They'd kept it secret for their own reasons, but at this point, Namjoon figured it didn't matter. "Do you remember what you said to me?"

"I told you that you're the brightest star up here, and that I knew you'd never forgive me if I proposed anywhere else." 

Namjoon smiles. "And do you remember what I said?"

"That nothing is more important than being with me," Seokjin grins. "And that not even space—"

"—can make me as breathless as you," Namjoon finishes with him.

"You're both suitably homosexual," Taehyung grumbles, "But this doesn't prove anything."

"it does," Namjoon counters, "Because the shapeshifter may be able to take identities, but it can't take memories - those don't copy over. It's the one thing that nearly saved the  _ Reveal _ .” 

"Nearly," Jungkook whispers, horrified.

"So what? We just sit around, sharing memories over the campfire?" Yoongi asks sarcastically. "Pardon my disbelief, but I don't think that's gonna out a murderer."

"Our last drop was two months ago," Namjoon reminds them. "Whatever this is had to have gotten aboard then. If it hasn't done anything in two months, it may have just been goaded into it."

"Can't blame it there," Yoongi mutters.

"That's what we hope for," Namjoon continues, undeterred. "But it may have just been biding its time, as well. Learning about everyone, figuring out how to fit in with humans. According to reports, these creatures look similar, but there are some key differences – one of which being that they don't breathe like we do."

"What, they have gills?" Jimin asks, laughing.

"They require significantly less oxygen," Namjoon tells him. "So much less that if our O-2 systems gave out today, they could survive far longer than we can. But like us, they can't survive in open space."

"You can't expect us to shove someone out an airlock," Seokjin gapes.

"Of course not," Namjoon sighs.  _ Not yet, anyway, but it's only a matter of time before individual survival instincts take hold _ . "But this is my message to this creature: you  _ will _ be found. You will not hurt another member of this crew in the meantime. When we dock at HQ in three days, you will be taken in by the authorities. If you come clean  _ right now _ we will do what we can to ensure you are granted mercy." 

Namjoon waits. He locks eyes with each member of his "crew," even as he knows the culprit won't come clean. All of the men are fidgety - not a single one completely still, and it drives Namjoon a little crazy to know that the killer is  _ right there _ and yet he can't do anything.

"Well," Taehyung eventually says, once it's become clear that no one will fess up. "We have shit to do if we wanna make it to HQ in one piece. Hell, if we can get enough done, we can cut that ETA down considerably."

"And then we can all go into quarantine upon arrival," Jimin continues, effortlessly picking up Taehyung's thought process. "It shouldn't take too long for one of us to get revealed as a fraud, not with the tests and everything they run at HQ."

"Sounds like a plan," Yoongi agrees as he stands and stretches. "Meanwhile, we'll just be careful and hope no one gets killed."

"That's a terrible plan!" Hoseok calls as Yoongi walks off. He huffs and follows after the fading view of the white jumpsuit. 

"Be safe everyone," Namjoon tells the rest as they stand. "Ask questions. Trust no one. If you see anything suspicious, you all know where the Red Alert button is."

All eyes turn to the large red button in the center of the table — it's never been used, not for anything serious, anyway, and Namjoon hopes it never will.

"Back to your tasks, starmen," Namjoon announces with a sigh. "And use caution. Don't forget - there's an imposter among us."


	4. bloody murder

Jungkook finds him later, as he's heading to the caf to hopefully fix the wires there. 

"Captain," Jungkook calls as he hurries out of the medbay. 

"You know you can call me by my name, Jungkook. We've never been that formal aboard the  _ Whalien."  _ It had been one of the first decisions that Namjoon had made – and one of the best. It had created an ease to the adjustment period that was relatively unheard of.

"Namjoon," Jungkook corrects with a hesitant smile that makes Namjoon grin. "I just...why didn't you tell me that you and Seokjin got engaged? We've been up here so long, and I thought we told each other everything, but now…"

"It wasn't something I wanted to share when it happened," Namjoon tells him. "It was something for us to know and enjoy, for ourselves."

"Did you not trust me?" Jungkook asks, almost begging, and Namjoon feels guiltier than usual for lying to him. 

"If you think I didn't say anything because of what happened that first week up here, you're wrong," Namjoon says softly as he pries off the door to the wiring compartment. 

Jungkook has the decency to look confused for a moment before his face turns red. "No! It's not– that's not how I– it isn't like that!"

"Okay," Namjoon accepts easily. "But I had to make sure. You're far from the first to develop feelings for their captain, and in other circumstances, maybe it would be different."

"You love Seokjin," Jungkook mutters. "I know that."

"And I care about you." Namjoon tells him gently as he ruffles Jungkook's long black hair. "Now go finish your tasks, Jungkookie. The sooner we get to HQ, the better."

Jungkook rolls his eyes. "Fine. I already did that stupid scan – which still tingles, by the way, I don't think Seunghyun fixed it right."

"We'll add it to the list," Namjoon grumbles. "Where are you headed now?"

"The bridge," Jungkook replies as he pulls up his task list on his MOD. "Apparently with everyone rushing to get things done, we need to adjust the course for the autopilot."

"Alright, well…" Namjoon hesitates. They've avoided the subject entirely so far, but it hangs over both of them like a cloud. "Be careful."

"Always." Jungkook gives him a smile and starts to head across the caf before he paused near their table. "For what it's worth, I don't think you did it."

Namjoon pauses, hands stilling where they're trying to fix the wires. He looks at Jungkook – really looks at him. The well-kept black jumpsuit tied around his waist, the piercings that are far from regulation uniform, the surety in his stance and the earnest look in his eyes. 

"Thanks, Jungkookie," Namjoon mutters, ducking his head back down to refocus on the wires. Emotion clogs in his throat, something dark and heavy that he has trouble naming. "I appreciate it."

He doesn't look up as Jungkook walks away, and he waits for the silence to get so loud that it buzzes in his ears before he drops the wires. It's too much – he's failed, and now there's something on the ship, and it's _ his fault _ . 

He debates, for too long, what would happen if he just gave up. If he went down to the storage bay and let himself get dropped out the airlock. The havoc this creature would wreak on the ship, on HQ, would be astronomical. The sheer amount of lives that would be lost….

But he could work around that, Namjoon thinks as he picks the wires back up. There’s a button in Admin that only he has access to, after all. He could destroy the murderer, blow the entire ship to smithereens – sacrifice himself and the remaining crew to ensure HQ stays the way it’s been for the last six decades: unbreached and unharmed. 

Namjoon sighs as he finishes attaching the wires. He knows better than to wonder about those things. He’s got a job to do, a mission that he’s close to completing, and he refuses to let some random alien interfere, no matter how murderous it may be.

This is  _ his _ ship, he decides as he closes the panel and checks his MOD. His crew, his mission, and wallowing in regret and self-hatred won’t stop this fucker from killing more people. 

An alert pops up on his MOD at the same time the alarm on the lower deck sounds. A quick succession of three chirps – nonlethal disruption. According to the alert he’s seeing, their communication system is down, and it will be until they recalibrate it.

“Fucking shit,” Namjoon mutters under his breath as he turns on his heel. The quickest path between the caf and the comms center is through storage so Namjoon heads that way. 

He pops his head in the Admin Office for a split second, just to make sure no one’s bleeding to death in there. The office is empty, though, the green glow from the GPS almost eerie in the silence of the ship. 

Nothing seems amiss, so Namjoon continues down the hallway. 

The storage bay is massive - it has to be. It holds all the essentials that don’t fit anywhere else, the samples they’re taking back to HQ, and has to have enough space for them to get in and out of the small horizontal cubbies that pass as bunks in a ship this old. 

There are footsteps, some heading towards him and some heading towards the comms room, so Namjoon assumes he isn’t the only one cutting through for a shorter walk. 

“Ah, Joon,” a voice calls, and Namjoon can just barely make out the dark blue of Taehyung’s suit as it comes towards him. “I heard the alert. Comms go down again?”

“Looks that way,” Namjoon agrees, however hesitantly. While the comms  _ have _ been known to go down every so often, Namjoon’s got a gut feeling that this wasn’t just happenstance. 

Namjoon searches Taehyung for any sign of blood or struggle, eyes flitting around until they land on the nametag stitched into the breast of the suit. He doesn’t mention it – from the looks of it, Taehyung hasn’t noticed either – and just gestures to one of the bunks nearby. 

“Shut Hobi’s bunk door, will you?” Namjoon asks. “I know he gets claustrophobic, but he at least could close it when he gets up like Yoongi and Jin so we don’t have to keep those lights running.”

Taehyung does as he asks, and Namjoon waits for him to finish before heading towards the comms room. 

It’s not that Namjoon suspects Taehyung, of course. It’s not that him being so quick to move past Hyun’s death is weird, because it isn’t, not for Taehyung. He never liked Hyun, said so the day they launched from HQ. And it’s not that it’s weird that Taehyung hasn’t noticed anyone being off lately; just because he’s an impeccable judge of character doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to catch an extremely skilled shapeshifting murderer. 

It’s just that Namjoon is a little wary of everyone right now, and Taehyung was quick to bring up the fight Yoongi had with Hyun the week before. Namjoon has a responsibility to be cautious around potential murderers, after all. 

“Hey,” Taehyung mutters as they cross the storage bay. “Sorry if I made you….I dunno, suspicious. Earlier. I didn’t mean to outright accuse you or anything, I just–”

“Yes, you did,” Namjoon says, no anger in his voice. “But I get it. Like you said, I was in the server room, I was found with the body, but I didn’t have any reliable info and I didn’t do anything to stop it or even turn the lights on. It’s suspicious, and it takes a very specific kind of bravery to admit that, especially about a friend and captain.”

Tension leaves Taehyung’s body as they get closer to the communications center. “So you aren’t mad?”

Namjoon shakes his head. “It would be irresponsible of me not to realize that I’m a major suspect,” he says, “And I’m glad that someone can set aside emotion to acknowledge that. Plus it gave me the chance to clear my name, so–”

“Fuck this,” someone says as they stumble out of the comms center. Namjoon sidesteps just in time to avoid being run into, and he shakes his head as Jimin runs straight into Taehyung instead. 

“You alright, Min?” Taehyung asks as he helps steady Jimin. The blonde just grins and leans in close. 

“Perfect,” he growls, nipping at Taehyung’s neck. Namjoon looks away - it’s not the first time the two of them have been rather overt with their relationship, but it always makes Namjoon turn slightly pink when he sees it. “Seokjin is fixing the comms, and not everyone really needs to be there for that. Too many cooks, you know? So I was thinking we could finish checking those samples.”

“Oh,” Tae hums in response to something Jimin does that makes both of their suits crinkle loudly. “Yeah, sure. You go ahead, I just want to check it out really quickly.”

Jimin whines, and Taehyung whispers something that Namjoon refuses to try to make out. Whatever it is makes Jimin giggle. 

“See ya, captain,” Jimin teases before he skips back towards storage, likely cutting through the caf to get to the medbay quicker. 

Taehyung doesn’t look at all ashamed as he and Namjoon enter the comms center. Seokjin is sitting in the chair at the desk, Yoongi and Jungkook at either side. 

“Everything okay?” Taehyung asks. Jungkook shoots him a conflicted look. 

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Jungkook eventually admits. “You should go with Jimin, though. You know how he gets when he struggles with this thing.”

“Comms being a pain again?” Namjoon asks, hands finding their place almost absentmindedly on Seokjin’s shoulders. 

“When aren’t they,” Yoongi grumbles. “He tried, but he kept getting frustrated and losing the signal.”

“I’ll get him,” Taehyung says. Namjoon doesn’t say anything about the suits as he heads out – if they’re doing what Namjoon suspects, they’ll realize it soon enough. Yoongi stretches, letting out a loud groan as he does. 

“I’m going to the bridge,” he says. “Maybe something there is fucking with the signal again.”

“Be careful,” Seokjin mutters, and Yoongi waves a hand dismissively. 

“If it was gonna kill me, it would’ve already.” Yoongi pats Namjoon’s back firmly and disappears, turning right outside the door, His footsteps echo on their way to the bridge. 

“I just don’t get it,” Seokjin grumbles as he fiddles with the dials in front of him. 

“Is it not fixable?” Jungkook asks, looking scared. Namjoon understands why – the communications center is the only way to get in touch with HQ if something goes wrong. 

“That’s the thing,” Seokjin sighs. “There’s nothing  _ wrong  _ with it.”

Namjoon frowns, looking over the tiny screens and dials - they all look exactly the same as they did that morning. “But the system–”

“–is definitely down,” Seokjin agrees. “But it’s almost like there’s something blocking it, like a jammer or something.”

“Can you figure out where it’s coming from?” Namjoon asks, stomach flipping. If the signal is being jammed then his gut feeling was right — whoever this imposter is, they took down the comms on purpose.

“No, but I can……there!” Seokjin hits some button, and the alert on Namjoon’s MOD disappears. “Communications are back online.”

Namjoon pats Seokjin’s shoulder – has every intention of planting a kiss on his brilliant head and grin when his ears turn red, but he hesitates. He doesn’t mean to glance at Jungkook, but he can’t help himself. The boy - the  _ man _ , Namjoon reminds himself - looks quickly away from where Namjoon’s hands rest on Seokjin’s shoulders and guilt churns in his stomach. 

He opens his mouth to say something,  _ anything _ , but gets cut off by a blaring siren and flashing red lights. 

The three of them move on instinct. They book it through the halls, race through the storage bay and past the admin office to get to the table in the caf.

Taehyung and Jimin are already there, Tae’s arms wrapped around Jimin’s small form. Namjoon does a quick head count, checks his memory, just out of habit, and his stomach drops as he makes eye contact with Taehyung. 

Footsteps clang through the room as Yoongi appears from the weapons hallway. Namjoon hits the silencer on his MOD, and the lights and alarm both shut off. It leaves a deafening silence in its wake, one that remains unbroken until Yoongi takes a sharp breath. 

“Where’s–” He stops himself. Namjoon watches him take everyone in - Taehyung with Jimin in his lap, eyes glossy; Seokjin collapsing onto a seat, mouth slightly parted in shock; Jungkook turned towards the large window, mouth covered and eyes closed; Namjoon, already having put the pieces together, watching it all. 

“Where?” Namjoon asks simply. 

“Medbay,” Taehyung answers, voice hoarse. “We–”

“No,” Yoongi says firmly. “ _ No. _ We can’t– we can’t start without Hobi, he’s gonna miss everything, we can’t–”

“Yoongi,” Namjoon calls softly. 

“No!” Yoongi shouts. His breath is coming too quick, he’s almost definitely on the verge of a panic attack, but he shoves Namjoon away when he tries to get closer. “No, he can’t– he can’t miss this! You know how he hates missing meetings, we can’t– we have to wait, we have to–”

Yoongi sucks in a breath, tears streaming down his face. Namjoon’s chest  _ aches _ , because of course it’s Hobi. Sweet, trusting, happy Hoseok; Namjoon doesn’t want to believe it himself.

“Where is he?” Yoongi demands. No one answers, looking between each other like someone else will have a different answer to give. Yoongi slams his hands against the table and everyone jumps. “WHERE IS HE?!”

“Yoongi,” Namjoon tries again. He’s known for Yoongi longer than anyone else here, he’s the captain, it’s his job to help. “Yoongi, he’s gone.”

It takes a second for the words to sink in, but when they do, every muscle in Yoongi’s body goes slack. He slumps, falling forward with his head in his arms. His entire body is wracked with silent sobs, and Namjoon feels, so viscerally that it’s like a blade in his lungs, just how terribly he has failed this crew.

Yoongi looks up, eyes rimmed with red and tears still streaking down his face. 

“You did this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha,,,,,,,,haha,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,happy valentines day?
> 
> as always you can find me [on twitter!](https://twitter.com/dddaenggtan) if you want another really great among us au that's actually super interactive and cool and really showcases how different this premise is depending on who dies first, i really recommend you check out [this au on twitter!!!!!!](https://twitter.com/namkookjin/status/1330648180166447105?s=20) its amazing pls help me make sure my babies dont get killed!!!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> yay!! i hope you liked it!! as i said at the top, i'll link my twt acct, probably at the end of each chapter, and you're welcome to talk to me either in the comments, on the tl, or in my cc, especially if you think you know who the killer is OJO


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